BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian College men's basketball team shook off a sluggish start and a seven-point first half deficit with 58 points in the second half to post an 88-72 win over visiting Elizabethtown College in Johnston Hall Saturday to open the 2018-19 Landmark Conference season.
"I thought Britt did a good job, and they had a good game plan and took some things away early," noted Head Coach Justin Potts. "We made some good adjustments at halftime, and guys responded. Obviously, neither team made a lot of shots in the first half, and I had a feeling we'd start making them in the second half, which we did. Our defense was a little bit better consistently through the game, which allowed us to open up the lead in the second half when we were making shots. It was a good team effort, and again I think our depth really helped. Steve Breeman was great off of the bench, and then Will and Oneil, two senior captains, did a great job of scoring the basketball."
The Greyhounds had four players in double figures, led by senior forward Oneil Holder, who had 23 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and three steals as he picked up his 13th career double-double and first of the season. Senior guard Will Brazukas tied his career high with 16 points to go with seven assists while freshman forward Steve Breeman had a career-best 14 points with two assists. Senior guard Nicholas Casazza added 10 points and four boards.
Senior guard Jimmy Murray tossed in eight points to go with three rebounds while sophomore guard Keith Otto had seven points, two boards and a pair of assists. Junior guard Elijah Davis contributed five points, seven rebounds and three assists while junior forwards John Hargraves and Addis Ralph each scored two points with Hargraves pulling down three boards. Sophomore guard Shon Wilson added three rebounds and one point.
The Hounds connected on 29-of-66 field goal attempts including 19-of-32 in the second half, and the squad was 10-for-31 beyond the three-point line and 20-of-27 at the foul line. Moravian had a 42-41 edge on the glass while forcing the Blue Jays into 20 turnovers.
Brazukas opened the scoring with a lay-up and a three-pointer, and Holder followed with a three-pointer and a jumper after Elizabethtown scored for a 10-2 edge five and a half minutes into action. The Blue Jays responded with a 10-0 run to take a 12-10 lead at the 12:39 mark, and Elizabethtown would push its lead to 24-17 with 4:04 left. The Blue Jays led 26-19 before Moravian closed the half with an 11-2 run including three-pointers form Casazza and Murray to head to the locker room with a 30-28 advantage.
Otto started the second half with a three-pointer, and the Greyhounds would get the lead into double digits, 42-32, for the first time on the first of three treys by Breeman in a span of 1:35. After Breeman third three-pointers, the Blue and Grey bad a 50-36 advantage with 15:05 remaining. The Hounds' largest lead of the contest would come after a Davis three-pointer pushed the score to 70:50 with 6:15 to play.
Moravian is scheduled to return to action on Wednesday, December 5 in a non-conference contest at Immaculata University beginning at 7:00 p.m.
